AN 11-year-old girl is among 89 cases of child sex exploitation on Teesside - with 13 of those victims also being trafficked for sex.

AN 11-year-old girl is among 89 cases of child sex exploitation on Teesside - with 13 of those victims also being trafficked for sex.

Shocking figures revealed to the Gazette show almost 90 individual young people, aged between 11-18, have been referred to a Barnardo’s project after being sexually exploited. And more than a dozen of them were moved from their home towns to other parts of the country to be abused.

The SECOS - Sexual Exploitation of Children on Our Streets - project receives referrals from police, social services, education services, “missing from home” schemes and from victims and families.

From April 1, 2011, until the end of September, the project’s Teesside centres recorded a noted increase from 2009/10 figures, previously reported.Then, the number of victims was 48 - with nine of those youngsters also the subject of internal trafficking - the youngest victim aged 12.

Both sets of figures include young male victims.

And although it does constitute sexual abuse, sexual exploitation is distinct from the type of abuse that takes place with family members, known as Intrafamilial Sexual Abuse.

In exploitation - or street grooming - the under-18-year-old has been involved in a sexual activity for which a payment of cash or “in kind” is given to the youngster, or someone else.

The perpetrator will use age, emotional maturity, gender, physical strength and intellect to overpower - but will often take the form of a “boyfriend” or person seemingly offering love to the victim.

Violence, threats and coercion are also regular features.

Earlier this year police agency Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) began a fact-finding task to gather information from all 144 local authorities across the nation.

The survey, using information from 33 of the 144 local authorities, identified more than 1,000 children being sexually exploited on just one day.

Along with a study from the University of Bedfordshire it was discovered that while Government guidance suggests every Local Safeguarding Children Board should have a lead person in place to deal with issues surrounding sexual exploitation - only a quarter actually did.

At the time of the report, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland councils responded to the CEOP questionnaire - showing measures in place, but Stockton Council claims it did not have adequate resources to respond within the deadline. It now has a designated person in place to deal with cases of sexual exploitation.

Currently, the Teesside SECOS team has 10 workers dealing with the 89 cases.

Newcastle’s project is dealing with 18 cases but with only one worker and across the 22 projects run by the charity, 1,098 cases were dealt with last year - but this is expected to rise when all centres return figures by the end of this year.

Victims have renewed confidence to report

POLICE have said there is now an increased willingness among the victims of sex exploitation to report their suffering.

Cleveland Police has said it remains dedicated in bringing these serious offences to light - and the perpetrators to justice.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter McPhillips, Head of Public Protection for Cleveland Police, added: “Police recognise that this is an issue both locally and nationally which in the past has been both under-reported and not recognised by agencies.

“We are now working closely with partners such as SECOS to identify and help those vulnerable individuals who may be targets for sexual exploitation.

“This has resulted in increased confidence from victims who are now more willing to report these crimes.”

Earlier this year the Evening Gazette brought this serious matter to light revealing 48 victims of exploitation were being helped through SECOS - with 9 of those, some as young as 12, being trafficked for sex.

MP Tom Blenkinsop then backed our drive to highlight these crimes, which included police interviews and a spotlight on Teesside trafficking campaigners.

And the new Teesside figures come a week after Children’s Commissioner, Sue Berelowitz, commissioned a two-year inquiry into gang-related sexual exploitation of children, fearing that limited reporting failings could mean as many as 10,000 young people are being victimised across the nation.

Ms Berelowitz said: “The Child Sexual Exploitation - Gangs and Groups Inquiry (CSEGG) - will attempt to discover how many children are being sexually exploited by both organised gangs and groups of people.

“Children are being failed up and down the country - in every village, town and city.

“We are pleased that the Gazette is highlighting this serious issue and we are encouraging organisations and professionals to tell us what’s happening in their area and inform us of good practice to support child victims.”

Gifts used as bait for children

A CHILD protection campaigner says she believes the figures on Teesside sex exploitation don’t reveal the full extent of the abuse.

Wendy Shepherd, children’s centre manager at the SECOS project, said: “We are not surprised at all by an apparent increase in cases this year. Although it’s still just the tip of the iceberg.

“Over the last year both ourselves and Cleveland Police have stepped up in our work detecting this.

“Our relationship is stronger than ever and together we have much more intelligence and a more robust approach to what the situation is here.”

But it’s not a crime that everyone knows about. The CEOP report referred to it as “hidden” and demanded that agencies begin robustly “looking for it”.

Wendy added: “The children we deal with have been used for sex and someone has gained from it.

“This can mean a young person is encouraged to sleep with friends of her ‘boyfriend’. They’re led to believe this is what real love is - and he wants his friends to experience it too.

“He might get something in return for that - money, drugs, even a packet of cigarettes.

“Often the victim is also given something, like a new phone or trainers.

“This just adds to them believing they are being loved and looked after.

“It’s not uncommon either for other adults, maybe in businesses - to take advantage of a young person, maybe after the victim has been drinking.

“That’s also exploitation. They are exploiting someone - often through the same means, with compliments and promises of affection - when they are vulnerable.”

But when the youngster is moved the crime then takes a more sinister turn.

Wendy, 55, said: “It becomes internal trafficking when the child or young person is moved from where they live to another town or city.

“At this point we know it takes organisation and planning - it becomes a serious organised crime. We know that there are gangs of people involved at this stage.”

The SECOS team previously revealed that one young female from Middlesbrough had been “moved” to Newcastle believing she was going to a party. She was then unable to leave before having sex with at least four men. She was then returned home by her “boyfriend”.

Wendy, who has been managing the centre for more than 12 years, said: “A new trend is starting to occur here, where they are taken from Teesside to seaside towns - sometimes even on buses.

“They think they are going to parties - often invited by someone online - and when they get there it’s a shattering reality of sexual torment.

“The more online grooming occurs the more offline exploitation is taking place.”

But for Wendy these crimes also contain a more subtle evil.

She said: “The worst thing is that these young victims won’t always know they are victims. They go along with what’s being asked of them believing a lie of what love really is. So when it comes to it being reported as a crime it’s almost - but not entirely impossible - to convict.

“It’s so sad to think their ideas of what constitutes a real loving relationship are so skewed that they are taken in. The grooming ensnares them.”